Doughnut former



sept. 27, 1932.l F. M. RQEHL DOUGHNUT FORMER Filed Nov. 12, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 NNN new

NON

A jizz/nio? Frank /fjfoehl Sept. 27, 1932. F, M RQEHL 1,879,951

- DOUGHNUT FORMER Filed Nov. 12, 1928 6 Sheets-sheet 2 Frank M oehl Sept. 27, 1932. FLM, ROEHL 1,879,951'

DOUGHNUT FORMER Filed Nov. "12, 192s 6 sheets-sheet 3 Frank l oehl I n .aaryrdw I smug:

Spt. 27, 1932. F. M. RoEHL 1,879,951

DOUGHNUT FORMER Filed Nov, 12, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet` 4 In Ven tor aW-wwm;

sept. 21, 1932.\ F. M. mgm.

DOUGHNUT FORMER Filed Nov. 1.2. 1928 6v Sheets-Sheet 6 Joy/(93 my. a.

Frank M. Ioehl Patented Sept. 27, '1

Y Y vv1,819,951

Vmuri-:D STATES PATENT oFF-ics FRANK M. nonnn, or MINNEAPOLIS, MINNnsoTA, AssIGNOn To NATIONAL AUTOMATIc DOUGHNUT MACHINE COMPANY, or MINNEAPOLIS.- MINNESOTA, A oonrOnATION or MINNESOTA DOUGHNUT FORMER' Application mea november 12, 192s. semi No; siano.

My invention relates to doughnut formera and has for its object to provide a device adapted to function in a manner to accusaid ri rately apportion and form thedoughnut dough in the desired size and shape. An object of the invention resides -inoproviding a frame structure having end frame members and in journalingtherein a shaft having attached to the same' end plates adapted to support a hollow cylinder'.

Another ob]ect of the invention resides in forming the cylinder with a plurality of in wardly extending rbsand to construct the cylinder with a number of annular boresextendin through the wallthereof and up to is to form coremembers carried by said ribs.

A still further object of the invention re-l sides in providing pistons reoiprocable along said bores, said pistons being constructie with inwardly extending legsvv adapted to straddle said ribs and to be operable from within said cylinder.

A feature of the invention resides in forming said end 'plates with a number of radial slots and to mount for radial movement in esto controlthe 'amount of dough deposited said slots, rods extending through said cylinder, said rods having pivoted thereto the legs of said pistons. v

A stil further feature of the invention rebe-rs a number of cams, said camsbeingadapted to engage rollers on the ends of 'said rods' for movmgsaid rods in a radial direction to reciprocate the pistons.A v 1 A Another object of the invention resides in pivoting one' of the cams to vits-end"frarnemember and-in providing a slide for adjust-v ably swinging-said camabout its ivot to vary the inward @movement of the pistons so within the vannular bores. u Y* Another object of the invention resides in employing in conjunction with the cylinder j [vice mounted upon a. doughnut cooking ma-l chine.v sides .in-mountingupon said end frame mempistons.

to engage the surface of the cylinder for removing the surplus dough adhering thereto and Yin further: providing said concave with ports for conducting the dough removed from the surface of the cylinder awa'yr from the same 'and for relieving the pressure -in the i feeding device. i l

With the foregoing and other objectsin view,which will appear in the following description, the invention residesin the novel l combination andarrangementof parts and in thedetails of construction `hereinafter described and claimed; t In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a doughnut'former illustrating an embodiment of my invention. l

Fig. 2-isanend elevational view of the structure shown in Fig. 1 illustrating thev transmission mechanism for operating the former.

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view similar to Fig.. 1 illustrating the machine from the opposite end. i

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view taken substantially on line of Fig. 2..

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 5--5 'of Fig. d and illustrating the de- 'trating the construction of the cylinder 'Scrapers'.

Fig, 8 is a perspective view of one of the' Fig. e is fragments plan sectional new of the cutter releaseta 'ensubstantially on line 9-9 of Fig.

10 is a perspective view of the cylinder sera er. e Y

though my doughnut former may be used with any type of doughnut cooking machine, l have shown the same as applied to a device which I have indicatedy in its entirety at A in Fig. 5. This device comprises a tank or e reservoir 10 for the reception of a liquid cooking medium, which tank is supported upon a frame structure 11. Within said tank is disposed a conveyor 12 formed with paddles 13 adapted to move the formed doughnuts entering the cooking liquid within the same continuously along said tank, while the same are being cooked through the a ency of the heated cooking liquid therein. T is particular construction forming no part of the instant invention has only been partially shown, though it can readily be comprehended that the device may be applied to any type of doughnut cooking device in which the doughnuts are removed from the point of discharge of the former.

My invention proper comprises primarily a cylinder B mounted for rotation in a framework C. A feeding device D superimposes thev cylinder B and operates in conjunction therewith to feed the dough to the cylinder where the same is formed into the desired shape. l

The framework C for supporting the various parts of the invention comprises two end frame members 14 and 15 which are formed with feet 16 adapted to rest upon the frame structure 11 of the cooking device A in a Imanner to support the feeder in a superimposed position over the head end of the tank A so as to discharge the formed doughnuts between the paddles 13 on said conveyor. These end frame members are connected together by means of a number of longitudinal bars 17, 18 and 19, which are attached thereto through bolts 20. l

The cylinder B comprises a hollow elongated cylindrical shell 29 which is threaded at lits two ends, as indicated at 25, to receive two vend plates 26 and 27. These end plates are constructed with outwardly extending trun- 0 nions 28 which are of conical formation.

Near the centers of the end frame members 14 and l5 are formed bosses 21 Whichare bored to receive conical bushings 22, which are rigidly held in place within said bosses by means of set screws 24. The bushings 22 form bearings for the trunnions 28 and serve to rotatably support the cylinder B.

The cylinder B is driven by means of a spur gear 30 which is formed on the end plate 27 and abuts against the end of the said cylindrical shell 29. This spur gear meshes with a pinion 31 rigidly attached to a driving'shaft 32. The shaft 32 is journaled in bearings 33 formed on the end frame members 14 and 15 and may be driven from any suitable source of power in the ordinary manner. The speed of this shaft is governed by the speed -at which it is desired to operate the cylinder B.

The cylindrical shell 29 forming a part of the cylinderB is constructed along the interior thereof with a plurality of spaced inwardly extending circumferentially disposed ribs 34. The said cylinder is further formed With a plurality of circumferentially disposed annularbores which are centrally arranged with respect to the ribs 34 and.

primarily supported thereon to maintain said pockets of fixed form and size. By means of this construction the said bores terminate at the ribs 34 but extend completely through the cylindrical shell 29 at both sides of said ribs. Operating within the bores 35 I provide a plurality of pistons 37 shown in detail in Fig. -8. These pistons comprise short annular portions 38 adapted to move within the annular bores 35 and are formed with inwardly extending legs 39 and 4() which are adapted to project inwardly Within the cylinder proper and to straddle the ribs 34. The outer surfaces 41 of these pistons are ground cylindrical, as clearly shown in Fig. 8, .so that when the said pistons are intheir outermost position, the said surfaces are continuous with the outer cylindrical surfaceof the cylinder proper.

For the purpose of reciprocating the pistons 37, the bores 35 are arranged in longi-v tudinal alignment. The legs 39 and 40 of each of the pistons 37- operating within said bores are drilled as indicated at 42 to receive slots in addition to permitting of radial reoiprocal movement of said rods and pistons, also serve to guide the inner ends of the pistons to reduce side thrust of the pistons within the cylinders and to resist the lateral component of the force applied in reciprocating said pistons. A i.

The various rods 43 are turned down at the protruding ends 45 thereof to rotatably support rollers 46. These rollers are each arranged to engage two cams 47 and 48, best shown in Fig. 6, one of each of said cams being attached to each of the end frame members 14 and 15 to cooperate with said rollers for simultaneouslyy moving the rods 43 at both ends thereof. The cam 47' is fixed relative to the end frame member on which it is attached-and is formed with a single spiralled cam surface 49 along which the various roll-- ers may ride. This cam serves to move the pistons 37 from their innermost to their 'outermost positions, the said rollers riding along the circularsurfaoe 50 of said cam when inV voutermost position and along the circular portion 51 of said cam when in their extreme innermost positions. The cam 48 is formed as the friction of the rods 43 along the radial ceive the rollers 46, which track is constructed to form the raw doughnuts which are subsewith spiralled cam surfaces 53 arranged to ,quently extruded from said pockets when move the pistons from their outermost to the istons r are moved to their outermost their innermost positions. Cam 48 is pivpositions. (The construction ofthe feeding with a double faced ltrack 52 adapted to repistons 37 'when yin their innermost portion i oted to the end frame section by means of a device D can best be shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

pin 55 situated at the outer end of the track 52. This device comprises a casting 56 which I and permits of swinging the inner end of said have designated in the specification as a contrack toward or from the axis of the cylinder cave and which is constructed with a con' B. The outer end ofthe track 52 is arranged cavesurface57 of the same curvature as the to communicate with the cylindrical surface Cylindrical shell29 of cylinder B and which 50 of the cam 47 so that when the cylinder is is adapted to rest upon the same. This conrotated the rollers 46 travel without interrupcave is formed at the ends thereof with four tion from the surface 50 and into the track lugs 58 which'are adapted to be seated upon 52 regardless of the adjusted position of said bearing surfaces 59 formed on the upper porcam 48. The adjustment of cam 48 serves to ,tions of the end frame members 14 and 15. vary the extent of the inward movement of The exact location of the said concave upon the pistons 37 and intothe bores 35. This the cylinder is determined by means of dowel serves to regulate the size of the doughnut pins 60, while the clearance between the said formed. It will be noted that due to the fact concave and cylinder may be adjusted that cam 47 is formed with but a single camthrough an adjustin screw 61 threaded into surface, that the rollers 46 may leave the surthe edge of each of t e lugs 58 and engaging faces 49 and 51 of said cam when the cam 48 the corresponding bearing surface 59. The is adjusted to form light or small doughnuts. entire feeding device D is rigidly clamped When the cam 48 is in its outermost position in -position upon the bearing surfaces 59 by the rollers 46 upon leaving track 52, continue means of a number of U-shaped clamps 62 to travel in a circle with respect to the axis of pivoted to the end frame members 14 ,and cylinder B until the same strike the spiralled 15 and provided with screws 63 for holding surface 49 of cam 47. This cam then moves the parts immovable. By adjusting the the said rollers outwardly at the same time screws 61 the clearance between the concave reciprocating the pistons 37 to their outerand cylinder may be adjusted at will and the most positions. The rollers 46 are mainconcave may be lowered toward the cylintained in such course due to the friction of der as wear along the contacting surfaces l i the pistons 37 within the bores 35 as well of the cylinder and concave occurs.

Longitudinally disposed along the casting slots 44.

For adjusting the camv 48 and holding the twol rotary members 65 which operate in con-v same in adjustedv position, l employ two junction with one another similar to a gear slides 118 which are slidably mounted in pump to draw'the'dough from an inlet port e guideways 119 formedinthe end frame meminto the chamber 64 and to discharge the bers 14 and 15. These slides are constructed same `from said chamber and into a discharge with inclined slots 120 adapted to receive port 67. The rotary members 65 are conpins attached to the cam members 48 structed 'to intermesh with one another and and movable through arcuate slots 126 in to follow along the wallof the chamber 64' the framemembers 14 and 15. Upon sliding in such a manner as to substantially prevent 56 I form a chamber 64 adapted to receive' the slides 118 along guideways 119, said pins leakage of the dough past the same and so as and slots 120 in slides 118 cooperate to move to positively feed the dough fromV the inlet said cams toward or from the axis of the port and into the port 67. The dough upon cylinder B. The cams 48 have been illusleaving the port 67 enters'a passageway 68 trated in Fig.' 6 in their innermost position. of such a sizeand form as to bring all of the The slides 118 are operated through thumb pockets 35 along the upper portion of the screws 122 which are rotatably Carried by cylinder in communication with the chambrackets 123 and `which are threaded into ber 64. As the rotary members operate, the the end frame members 14 and 15. A pointsame force the douA h into the Said pockets er 124 secured to each of the cams 48 serves where the raw doug nut isformed in the deto indicate the exact adjustment of the said sired size and shape. The cylinder B travels cams and at the same time provides a means in a counter clockwise direction, as viewed in whereby the cams may be locked in position. Fig. 5 and as indicated by the arrow. It This is accomplished throu h nuts 127 will be noted that the cams 47 and 48 are screwed upon the pins 125 wich lock the so designed and timed that the pistons37 pointers 124 from movement and thereby. are retracted alongthe bres 35 prior to the hold the cams 48 in fixed position.' l

The feedin device D previously referred the passageway 68 and that the same so reto serves to orce the doughnut dough into lmain until after the said pockets have passed the pockets formed by the bores 35 and the from beneath the concave. The said cams said pockets coming in communication with.

are so timed and constructed that as soon as the pockets leave the concave the dough formed within the same is extruded by means of said pistons, said pistons being at their outermost positions when the sameare immediately below the axis of the cylinder.

The method of supporting the rotary members 65 for rotation is best seen in Fig. 4. The chamber 64 which is noted in Fig. 5, is in the form of two intersecting cylindrical bores and extends completely through the concave 56. At the ends of these bores are tightly pressed two bushings 84 and 85 which are bored at 86 to form bearings for trun nions 87 turned on the ends of the rotary members 65. These trunnions extend through the bushings 84 and have secured t-o their protruding ends 200, spur pinions 88 and 89 at both ends thereof which serve to retain said rotary membersin proper angular relation to one another. One of the trunnions 87 extends outwardly beyond its respective pinion and has attached to it a spur gear 90 which is adapted to mesh with a gear pinion 91 journaled on a stud 92. This pinion is secured to the end frame member and also meshes with the gear 30, serving to effect a drive between the said gear and the feeding mechanism. I

For the purpose of supplying the dough to the feeding device the same is constructed with a hopper 69 superimposing the concave 56. This hopper is constructed with flanges 70 which rest upon brackets 71 formed on the concave 56 and which are adapted to be attached thereto by means of bolts 72. The

hopper G9 may be of any desired shape and is so designed as to communicate with the port 66 and to assist in delivering the dough to the same Where the dough may be drawn into the chamber 64L by the rotary members 65. If desired, the walls of the hopper 69 may be constructed of two thicknesses of material as illustrated in Fig. 5, to serve in insulating the interior of the said hopper from the exterior so as to maintain'the dough at itsv initial temperature in order to prevent the same from cooling and effecting the operation of the feeding device.

In the operation of the device a certain amount of dough adheres to the surface of the cylinder B and which, if not removed i therefrom, would rapidly cake upon the cylinder-and quickly render the device inoperable lfor anypractical purpose. Atthe same time a considerable portion of the dough would leak past the edges of the concave 56 and merely go to waste. For the purpose of overcoming'these difficulties, I employ a scraper 73 `which is illustrated in detail in Figs 7' and 10. This scraper is in thenature of a long bar which is formed with a sharpened edge 74 extending to within a short distance 'of the same. The scraper 74 is mounted Within a longitudinal slot 75 formed in a rib 76 disposed at the lower extremity of the concave 56 at the side of the same along which the, pockets leave said concave. This slot extends completely through the concave surface 57 of the concave so that when the scraper 73 is disposed therein the sharpened edge 74; of said scraper comes in contact with the surface of the cylinder B. The scraper 73 is maintained within the slot 7 5 by means of screws 77 which extend through the rib 76 through openings 78 therein and are threaded into the scraper proper. The openings 7 8 adjacent the inner edge of the scraper 7 3 are enlarged as indicated at 79 to receive compression coil springs 80 which force the scraper inwardly against the surface of the cylinder. The screws 77 serve as stops for limiting the inward movement of the scraper and at the same time serve to retain the scraper within the slot when the concave is removedlfrom the cylinder. The slot 75 is enlarged immediately above the scraper 73 as indicated at 81 to form a passageway which is adapted to communicate vwith a series of.

upwardly extending ducts 82 communicating with the space above the concave D and within the hopper G9. The dough removed by the scraper 7 5 is led into the passageway 81 by means of said scraper where the dough so removed escapes through the duct 82 and into the hopper proper. A similar duct 83 disposed on the opposite side of the concave 56 serves to relieve the pressure adjoining the edge of the concave and prevents leakage of the dough past the concave proper. Bot-h the ducts 82 and 83 serve to relieve the pressure within the passageway 68 created by the rotary members of the feeding device so that loss of material is almost entirely prevented. These ducts are of such dimensions -that the same afford sufficient resistance to give the desired pressure Within the passageway 68 and at the same time allow the surplus dough delivered to the said passageway to escape back to the hopper.

.- In addition to the scraper 73, I employ two Scrapers 93 which are attached tothe longitudinal frame member 17 .f These scrapers are arranged of angular formation and are arranged to engage the corners ofthe cylinder so as to remove the surplus dough leaking past the arcuateedge of the concave. These Scrapers do not function'to reclaim the dough so removed, but merely remove the surplus dough from the cylinder where the same is wasted. In actual experience but a small percentage of the dough leaks past the arcuate edge of the concave and the waste removed -by said Scrapers is exceedingly small. v

In the formation of the doughnut, the dough being forced into the doughnut receiving pockets under considerable pressure, the

same is caused to adhere tothe surfaces 41 of rvs '- completely extruded from said pockets. To

tom of the same.

sever the doughnuts from said plstons, I em` ploya cutter which is best illustrated in Figs.

1, 3, 4 and 9. The trunnions 28 of the cylinder B are centrally bored at 94 and 95 to rotatably support y a longitudinal shaft 23.- This shaft extends outwardly beyond the end frame members 14 and 1 5'and has secured to it by/means of ke s 96 and cap screws 97, a. pair of downwary extending arms 98 and 99 which terminate in proximity to the periphery of the -cylindrical'sh'ell 29 at the bot- A steel wire 100 is attached to the arm 98 by means of a screw 101l while the said wire is'similarly attached to the arm 99` by means of a screw 102.. This wire is further secured to atightening device 103 by means of which t-he said wire may be-drawn taut across the bottom of the cylinder B so as to sever the doughnuts from the pistons 37. For retaining the wire 100 in close contact 4With the surface of cylindrical shell 29, I employ a plurality of peripheral wires 104, Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, which are secured to the bars 17 and 18 through tension coil springs 105 and 106. Upon oscillating the shaft 23 the wire 100 is caused to move along the periphery of the cylinder B Aand is held in contact throughout its extent by means of the` wires 104.

For actuating the wire cutter 100, a dog 107 is employed which is pivoted. to the arm through a pm 108 so as to Ioscillate in a di- 'rection toward 'and from the end plate 26 of cylinder B. Along the outer mar 'n of this end plate is provided a plurality o outwardly projecting pins 109 which, when the dog 107 is oscillated to one of its extreme positions, as shown in Fig. 9, are adapted to engage the butt end 110 of said dog and-to im part rotational movement to the cutter in the same direction as the travel of the cylinder B. A compression coil spring 111 seated at one end' against the dog 107 and at Vits other end against a bracket 112 secured to arm 98 serves to hold the end 110 of dog 107 into position to be enga ed by any 1 of the pins 109. The other en of the dog 107 is formed with a cam surface 113 which is adapted toengage the end of an adjusting screw 114 threaded into the end frame member 14 and projectin in the path of movement of said cam surfgace is screw serves to oscillate the dog 107 upon its axis and to disengage the buttcn'd 110 thereof :from` engagement with thepin 109, allowing the cutter/to be moved back toward its normal position. For' causing such movement, the arm 98 is constructed wlth an outwardly extending lever 115 which has pivthe end 110 of said cam is forced into engagev ment with the adjoining pin 109, there being the same number of pins as there are rows of 4doughnut pockets in the cylinder. As the cylinder continues to travel, thesucceeding in 109 moves the cutter along with the cylinder'until the dog again engages the screw 1,14 and releases the cutter. For the purpose of brakin the action of the cutter the extreme end o the lever 115, whichis indicated at`128, is caused to move between two ngers-129 and 130 which are arranged to frictionally engage said lever end. These ngers are loosely mounted upon two studs 1.31 and 132 secured to the end frame member 14 and are yieldingly forced toward one another by means of a bolt 133 having a compression coil spring 134 positioned between the bolt head and the fingers 130. The

fingers 129 and 130 are preferably made V- shaped so as to increase the friction upon the end 128 as the cut-off device reaches its eXtreme position.

My invention operates in a positiveandf actly the proper time, thereby causing the formed doughnuts to be delivered at the required time. The device can be readily taken apart for cleaning and repairing and may be adjusted to compensate for wear.. The bearings for the cylinder may be longitudinally adjusted through the set screws provided for the purpose to take up the wear on the bearings so that the machine may function pro erly at all times. The `dou lh is positiv y forced into the doughnut poc ets under ressure and insures a complete lling o the ockets. The pistons operating in the bores orming the doughnut pockets travel toward their innermost position while dou h is being forced into the same. This prec udes anyr sibility of the doughnut pockets being ed with airV and insures the formation of a perfect doughnut of the desiredV shape and wei ht. By adjusting the cam slides any thic ess of dou hnut can be secured. Due to the ducts leading from the marginal portions sof the concave and due to the Scrapers operating in conjunction with the same, a minimum yamount of waste material occurs, thereby veatly reducing the expense of ,onperation o the machine.

Changes in the cie form of my invention, as herein'disc osed, ma be made `within the scope of what is claime -without depart- Iin'gIfi-om' the spirit of my invention. reverse movement of the shaft 23 causes the` aving described my invention, what I through said claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is l. A doughnut former comprising a support, a cylinder journaled in said support and having a plurality of circumferentially disposed bores forming pockets for the reception ofthe dough, a plurality of pistons reciprocable radially along said bores, means including cam engaging members, for reciprocating said pistons, a cam member pivoted to said-support and adapted to cooperate with said cam engaging member for moving said pistons into said bores, a second cam fixed relative to said ysupport for moving said pistons outwardly along said bores, a slide movable along said support, and means applied between said slide and cam whereby said cam may be adjusted upon its pivot upon rectilinear movement of said slide.

2. A doughnutformer comprising a rotatable cylinder formed with a plurality of pockets therein, a feeding device contacting with said cylinder, means for feeding the dough from said feeding device and into said pockets, a scraper for scraping the dough along the surface of said cylinder, a conduit for delivering the dough removed by said scraper back to said feeding device, and means for extruding the dough from said pockets.

3. A doughnut former comprising a rotat able cylinder formed with a plurality of pockets therein, a feeding device including a concave having a concaved surfacev adapted 4to contact with a portion of the surface of said cylinder, a passageway along said concave adapted to communicate with the pockets 1n said cylinder, means for feeding the dough passageway and into said pockets, a scraper disposed at the end of said concave and adapted to remove the surplus dough from the surface of said cylinder, a

conduit extending away from the scraping edge of said scraper for leading the dough removed from the surface of the cylinder away from the same.

4*. A doughnut former comprising a rotat- 'able cylinder formed with a plurality of pockets therein, a feeding device .including a concave having-a concaved surface adapted to contact with a portion of the surface of said cylinder, a passageway along said concave adapted to communicate with the pockets inv said cylinder, means for feeding the dough through said passageway and into 'said pockets, a scraper disposedat'the end of said concave and adapted to remove the surplus dough from the surface o f said cylinder, a conduit extending` away from the scraping edge of said scraperfor leading the dough removed from the surface of the cylinder away from the saine, and additional conduits at the other end of said concave for leading away dough tending to leak past said concave and along the surface of said cylinder.

5. A doughnut former comprising a rotatable cylinder formed with a plurality of pocketsv therein, a feeding device including a concave having a concave surface adapted to contact with a portion of the surface of said cylinder, a passageway along said concave adapted to communicate with the pockets in said cylinder, means for feeding the dough through said passageway and into said pockets, and conduits formed along the longitudinal edges of said concave for leading away the dough tending to leak past said concave and along the surface of said cylinder.

6. A doughnut forming machine comprising a cylinder having pockets therein, a feeding device contacting with a portion of the surface of said cylinder terminating in longitudinal and peripheral contacting edges .for filling said pockets with dough, means along the longitudinal edges of said feeding device for removing the surplus dough from said cylinder and delivering the same back into said feeding device, and Scrapers positioned along the exterior of said cylinder .at the corners thereof for removing the surplus dough leaking past the peripheral edges of said feeding| device.

7 A doughnut former comprising a hollow cylinder formed with an internally disposed rib, said cylinder being provided with a plurality of c ircumferentially arranged annular.

annular bores extending completely through the' wall of said cylinder and up to said rib to form core members, said'core members being supported on said rib, pistons reci rocable along said bores, legs formed on sai pistons i and extending through said bores and straddling said rib, and means engaging said legs for reciprocating said pistons.

9. A doughnut formercomprising a hollow cylinder formed with an internally disposed rib, said cylinder being provided with a plurality of circumferentially arranged annular bores extending completely .through the wall of 'said cylinder and up to said rib to form core members, said core members being supported on said rib, pistons reciprocable.

along said bores, legs formed on said pistons and extending through said bores and straddling said rib, rods pivoted to the legs of said pistons for reciprocating said pistons, rollers attached to the ends of said rods, and

. a cam for engagement with said rollers for said cylinder, said duct communicating with said feeding means for returning plastic substance approaching said edge of said member vback to said feeding means.

11. In combination, a rotatable cylinder, a concave having a concave surface seated against a ,portion of said cylinder, said concave having an opening communicating with the surface of said cylinder, means for feeding a plastic substance through said opening and against said cylinder, said concave having a duct formed in the concave surface thereof at a point adjacent one of the outer v edges of said concave for returning the plastic substance passing one of the edges of said concave at said opening back to said feeding meaIlS.

said rib, the rib being centrally disposed with respect to said bore, a piston of a diameter to fit within said bore and of substantially the same diameter throughout its length, said piston having a slot extending through'the same to form spaced legs on said piston adapted to straddle said `rib when said piston is disposed within said annular bore, and means for engaging the legs on said piston for reciprocating the saine within said bore.

15. A doughnut former comprising a frame structure having end frame members, a shaft journalled in said end frame members, enti plates secured to said shaft, a hollow cylinder attached to said end plates and formed with an internally disposed rib, said cylinder being provided with a number of radial bores, pistons slidable within said bores, said pistons having pairs of inwardly projecting portions straddling said rib. sai portions eing spaced from one another throughout their extent, rods ,passing jointly through said portions, said endplates having radial slots for the guiding of said rods for radial u 0 movement, rollers secured to the ends of said rods, and cams engaging said rollers for moving said. rods along said slotsto reciprocate said pistons.

in testimony whereof l have aixed my signature to this specification.

FRANK M. RUE.,

of circumferentially disposed bores forming' l pockets for the reception of the dough, a plurality of pistons reciprocable radially along said bores, and means including cam` engaging means for reciprocating said pistons, of a fixed cam and a cam member pvoted Eat one end for operating said cam engaging means, a slide member movable past the movable end of said pivoted cam member, one of said members having a slot and the other a pin for engagement therewith for swinging said cam member upon reciprocation of said slide member.

13. A doughnut former comprising a hollow cylinder formed with an internall dis-` posed rib,/said cylinder being provide with annular pockets of an internal diameter greater than the width of said ribs and centered thereon, said pockets extending completely through the wall of said cylinder to leave segmental o enings on either side of said rib, tubular pistons disposed within said annular pockets, said pistons having slots across the same to forni segmental legs adapted to extend through said se ental openings and into the. interior -of t e cylinder and means within the cylinder engaging said legs for operatingsaid pistons.

14. A doughnut former com rising a hollow cylinder having a circum erentially arranged rib within the same, said cylinder being formed with an annular `bore extending through `the wall of said cylinder and up to 

